Economic cost of Harvey and Irma could hit US$290b

Washington

THE combined economic cost of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma could reach US$290 billion, equivalent to 1.5 per cent of the US gross domestic product, US forecaster AccuWeather said in a report on Sunday.

The firm's chief executive and founder Joel Myers said: "We believe the damage estimate from Irma to be about US$100 billion, among the costliest hurricanes of all time."

Harvey, which battered Texas and parts of Louisiana late last month, will be "the costliest weather disaster in US history at US$190 billion or one full percentage point of GDP", which stands at $19 trillion.

The report said it arrived at the figure by calculating disruptions to business, increased unemployment rates for significant periods of time, damage to transport and infrastructure, crop loss including a 25 per cent drop in the orange crop, increased c…